After Hurricane Katrina walloped south Mississippi in 2005, then-Vice President Dick Cheney was among the national leaders who traveled to the area to assess damage, and he was instrumental in helping the state secure federal money for recovery, Republican former Gov. Haley Barbour said Tuesday.

Cheney died Monday night of complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said. He was 84.

Barbour and Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson are among the Mississippi political figures who say they appreciate the legacy of Cheney, who is widely considered one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history.

Barbour was governor from 2004 to 2012, overlapping with most of the Bush-Cheney terms from 2001 to 2009.

“He wasn’t loud, but he was strong … and he was a very

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